For more information about Vanguard funds, visit vanguard.com or call 877-662-7447 to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information about a fund are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing.

Vanguard ETF Shares are not redeemable with the issuing Fund other than in very large aggregations worth millions of dollars. Instead, investors must buy and sell Vanguard ETF Shares in the secondary market and hold those shares in a brokerage account. In doing so, the investor may incur brokerage commissions and may pay more than net asset value when buying and receive less than net asset value when selling.

Investments in bond funds are subject to interest rate, credit, and inflation risk.

Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.

Investments in stocks or bonds issued by non-U.S. companies are subject to risks including country/regional risk and currency risk. Stocks of companies based in emerging markets are subject to national and regional political and economic risks and to the risk of currency fluctuations. These risks are especially high in emerging markets.

All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.

Tony Giordano

Tony is a senior financial advisor in Vanguard Personal Advisor Services®. He joined Vanguard in 1992 and has been providing financial planning services and investment advice to high-net-worth clients since 1998. Tony is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional and a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. He has a bachelor's degree in accounting from Bloomsburg University.

Comments

Richard G. | March 29, 2017 11:08 am

Mr. Giordano I would like to see a few articles on inherited IRA’s.This would help the ladies especially as they have the good sense to keep on outliving their husbands as a general rule.Ed Slott has several books out about this subject and you can really foul up this inheritance if you do not title the transfer right for the beneficiary.Also I am reading numerous requests from older folks seeking advice as to how to keep managing their portfolios later in life.I would bet if Vanguard ran a little survey about their investors they would find that as much as 35-40% of us are retired and are no longer in the work force and we represent a few billion of Vanguards 4 plus Trillion total.Please keep on representing All phases of your investors at Vanguard. We as your owners appreciate you in the Home office. Let’s get that 5th Trillion in 2017.

Robert E. | March 8, 2017 8:57 am

Great question, Robert. Because you’re still working part-time, it’s important to check with your plan’s custodian to see if you’re able to roll over the account now. Your plan may allow you to do a rollover while you’re still working—otherwise, you may need to wait until you leave your employer.

Bruce W. | February 21, 2017 12:55 pm

I am almost 69 and my wife is 60 1/2. I am retired and we plan to have her retire June 30, 2017. I have several IRA’s, she has a couple, we both have Roths, and she has her 401K plan. Together we also have an emergency Money Market fund and a couple taxable funds outside the iRAs and 401K. I have “managed and balanced” all these funds as “one portfolio”, disregarding whose they are, and currently have a 60/40 stock vs. bonds/cash breakdown. I have seen a multitude of articles and financial planning tools, etc. that take into account risk tolerance, age, etc. for ONE person but NEVER a tool which helps manage TWO people’s investments and ages. Do you know of any? Or, if not, do you have any advice for managing our investments (i.e. should I have set-up a separate portfolio for each of us, ignoring that the other existed? One reason I didn’t was due to our separate 401Ks not offering all fund types, but the other one’s did). Thanks

Jacob S. Wargo W. | January 13, 2017 10:41 am

Donald G. | January 18, 2017 2:13 pm

Mr. Jacob S. Wargo W. 1-13-17 10:41 a.m.May I suggest you call up Vanguard and give them your financial particulars and decide what you want your money to do for you.You never revealed any thing about what you have now so you can only expect to receive general investment ideas.#1 Pay off all taxes due on the money.#2Put aside(if you do not already have one) an emergency fund in the $25 to $50,000.00 range.#3If you are still working you may want to put some of this money in your Roth account.#4If you have grandchildren you may want to consider starting or add to an 529 educational fund for their education.OOPS#1a pay off all charge card debt-house too.#5 If you have a #2 boss give her a few thousand to go shopping this coming black Friday before Thanksgiving.#6 finally go spend some money on yourself! #7 If there is anything left call up Vanguard and let them help you invest the rest. Good Luck to you Sir!

David R. | February 12, 2017 5:04 am

Kenneth S. | January 11, 2017 7:53 pm

I want to heap more praise on Mr. Bogle. Jack Bogle and Warren Buffet are my two heroes. They are he epitomy of gentlemen with manners. I wish they could replace the current president elect (Donald Trump).
They both have the utmost respect of the investment community. My wife and I
have invested 90% of our 401k and IRAs with Vanguard Index, Target and other funds since 1980.
All my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and their spouses (20 total) also are maxing out with Vanguard in their IRAs and 401k upon my advice.
Many thanks to you, Mr. Bogle, for providing us with the advice and the means for a very comfortable retirement for the past 16 years!

Theresa M. | January 10, 2017 3:24 pm

Hi Theresa. The IRS allows investors age 50 or older to make catch-up contributions to both IRAs and employer-sponsored plans, such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s. The catch-up contribution amount for 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s, and SAR-SEPs is $6,000. This amount is in addition to the contribution maximum of $18,000.

Jim B. | January 10, 2017 11:13 am

I would like to see a blog where all retirees (at least two years) share their financial plans and how they have done during the two year period. More importantly what advice they would give to “new” or those on the verge of retiring. I have found that listening to real life situations is far more important than looking at a spread sheet. Numbers ultimately matter but emotions also play a significant role in any retirement plan.

Dan W. | January 19, 2017 7:32 pm

Richard G. | February 11, 2017 1:33 pm

Jim B. 1-10-17 11:13a.m.I can only share what I have experienced. I was a 62 year old Federal retiree when I retired.I had already done all of my calculations before hand and I knew that I could be comfortable in retirement.The biggest change for me was once you enter the land of “no more earned income” you are severely restricted in how you invest, particularly in your tax-deferred side of your finances.There is no more dollar cost avg.You can only rebalance with the money that was in your account when you retired.Of course you can and should continue to save part of your taxable income.I elected to file early for S.S. and let my 401k grow with Vanguard for an additional 8 years to RMD(age701/2).Some people with extremely large 401k’s(north of a million) elect to go the other way and live off of their IRA money and let their S.S. build and take S.S. at their max benefit age.It is nice to no longer having to pay S.S,medicaire, union dues and less taxes and of course no more 401k,IRA deductions.A lot of people do not realize that they will be getting a 15-25% raise just having these deductions now going into your pocket.My advice to new or about to retire compadres- get as debt free as you can get before you retire.Keep a HEALTHY emergency fund in the bank or a credit union.Once you go on a fixed income you will appreciate having a buffer zone to handle the emergencies that life will throw at you.The #1 thing that I enjoy about my retirement is our 4 grandchildren! Good Luck

Paul D. | January 10, 2017 8:55 am

Mr. Giordano I would like to see more written about Vanguards “Partner with an Advisor” program. I have read everything that is available on the Vanguard and Bogleheads websites which has been helpful, but I still have some reservations.

I have been an investor since the early ’80’s and have been with Vanguard since the mid to late ’80’s. Over those years, I slowly built my Vanguard holdings from a low 5 figure portfolio to my current 7 figure portfolio. Now, I am 75 and find that I no longer really have the energy or desire to manage it as I once did. I know, I could contact my Flagship Representative, but I am more comfortable just reading the material, reflecting on and analyzing the data, seeking out additional information if needed and then making up my mind what (if anything) I will do. Since I am very ‘old-school’, my hesitancy probably has more to do with what I don’t know about it and concerns if it would be a comfortable fit, than it does with any trust issues with Vanguard.

One of my investing mottos, “Invest in Haste…Repent at Leisure”, has made me a patient investor….so I’m in no hurry to do anything.

Hi Paul, thanks for your interest and question regarding “Partner with an Advisor,” which is Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Services (PAS). To learn more about PAS, contact your Flagship representative, who can arrange an appointment for you to speak with a financial advisor. There’s no pressure (or cost) to speak with a financial advisor—some Vanguard investors just have a one-time discussion to review their accounts and financial needs while others decide to partner with a financial advisor to manage their investments going forward. Here’s a link to details on the cost if you decide to enroll in PAS: https://investor.vanguard.com/financial-advisor/financial-advisor-fees.

Richard G. | January 9, 2017 8:25 pm

Mr Giordano I am glad that you have compiled the above list.As a 68 year old retired Federal employee The common thing that I see to the above is how do we handle financial changes through out our lives.How committed or un-committed are we during our working lives to both begin and sustain our saving and investment regimen over the years.Are we willing to take calculated risks or are we “nervous nellies” and want to go hide during a market downturn.Do we search out and inquire about all of our employer benefits that can immeasurably help us if we would only take advantage of them.Are we starting early to save and invest or are we suddenly 45-50 years old and realize we have financially put ourselves in a hole and will have to try and play catch-up.Some of us have taken steps back due to financial calamities that were out of our control and others created the problems ourselves.Members of Vanguard know by looking at our ever growing balances that doing what Vanguard counsels us to do works very well and there is an ever growing list of “investment Millionaires” in Vanguard to prove this point.I have found that you have to shift gears from accumulating your money during your work life to learning to manage your stash once you enter retirement.Vanguard has become my engine now and I fully expect to continue hitting on all eight cylinders.I really enjoy my Admiral shares stocks and bonds.Your owners appreciate you all in the home office.I wish every member of Vanguard a happy N.Y

What's your opinion?

Vanguard welcomes your feedback on this blog, but please read our commenting guidelines
first. Comments will be published at our discretion. Questions or comments about your Vanguard investments or customer-service issues? Please
contact Vanguard directly. Opinions expressed in blog comments are those of the persons submitting
the comments, and don't necessarily represent the views of Vanguard or its management.

Twitter

For more information about Vanguard funds, visit vanguard.com or call 877-662-7447 to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information about a fund are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing.

Vanguard ETF Shares are not redeemable with the issuing Fund other than in very large aggregations worth millions of dollars. Instead, investors must buy and sell Vanguard ETF Shares in the secondary market and hold those shares in a brokerage account. In doing so, the investor may incur brokerage commissions and may pay more than net asset value when buying and receive less than net asset value when selling.

Investments in bond funds are subject to interest rate, credit, and inflation risk.

Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.

Investments in stocks or bonds issued by non-U.S. companies are subject to risks including country/regional risk and currency risk. Stocks of companies based in emerging markets are subject to national and regional political and economic risks and to the risk of currency fluctuations. These risks are especially high in emerging markets.

All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.